After Sundown: Illumination Page 6

  After he’d found them wandering lost in the world without their life quests he’d easily gained control of them. And if there was one thing a dark wizard enjoyed it was bending the mighty gargoyle to his will. Most gargoyle were proud of themselves and their race. Most of the clans prided themselves on high morals and the good they did for the world. But there were also the evil gargoyles, the ones who wanted to change that. Who wanted to create chaos and reign supreme in the world instead of allowing humans to run the show. And that greed for power, that need for chaos and violence, played right into Xander’s hands as well as his ambitions for future power. He had started with the Nimchava clan, knowing they were easily swayed by promises of chaos, evil and power but his influence had starting spilling over into the other clans, even the Shimara and Jutaka. Promises of power and glory were seductive lures even for the most altruistic clans.

  Gargoyles were so easy to control, so easy to master. Just like dogs. They were good for nothing more than to do their master’s bidding. His bidding.

  He sneered at his two minions.

  “You did what I asked? You took care of Shaina of the Shimara clan? She is no longer a threat, correct?”

  “She has been taken care of, Master.”

  Xander nodded his head. “Good. Well done.”

  Xander smiled. Shaina had been hard to break. In fact in the end, despite the torture he’d put her through, despite all her agony, she hadn’t been completely broken. Just enough that he’d learned what he’d needed to learn.

  The Shimara clan was strong, as was their magic. It had taken most of his powers just to get what he had from Shaina. But in the end he had. He found out exactly what he needed to know about Chandra’s Stone.

  He had come across the prophecy while traveling through Europe last year. He had been visiting brother covens, gleaning whatever he could from their masters along the way while acting as ambassador to promote the Joining ceremony coming up this year. The Joining was one of the few times all wizards came together. This gathering only occurred once a decade. There were feasts, discussions about the state of magic and its effects on the human world, as well as accolades for those who had accomplished great things for their kind. Leaders of the wizard community always attended.

  This year he planned on boosting his rank higher and finally receiving all the accolades he was due. Though a master wizard, Xander always felt like he didn’t get the respect he deserved from the rest of the community. His brothers told him he was a rebel, that he did things in too unorthodox a manner and didn’t care how that affected the magic community.

  Of course his brothers were wrong. And now they would see the errors of their ways. The prophecy assured him of that. Once he showed his peers exactly what he had accomplished there would be no questioning him ever again. In fact, he would probably be given the position of High Wizard, as was his due. And those who dared to question him, those who doubted him and tried to thwart his many efforts, they would pay and pay dearly.

  Thoughts of glory filled his head and he smiled.

  Soon.

  It would all be his soon.

  But he needed to take care of Rebecca.

  He needed her out of the way once and for all.

  She had gotten lucky last time. Next time she wouldn’t. Next time she would be dead. Then everything would be his. The world would lie at his feet, waiting for him to command it.

  As it should be.

  “Master, what else would you have us do?”

  Xander’s mouth spread into an evil grin. His minions smiled back just as evilly. They knew when their master smiled like that he had plans, plans that involved violence and unpleasantness. They looked forward to it, relished the thought of such action and let anticipation build inside them.

  “Do? Well, let’s see? How about if you pay another visit to our female friend Rebecca,” he suggested, his smile turning into a satisfied smirk. “Her grandparents think they have her safely tucked away. Let’s show them exactly how wrong they are.”

  The two gargoyles moved in, listening closely to his plan.

  “It’s time for a special visitor to go to the hospital to see our little Rebecca. This is what I want you to do…”

  Jason left the hospital a couple hours before sunrise. The day attendant had arrived a little early and Jason decided it would be safe to check on a few things.

  He would pay another visit to Twice Charmed.

  Twice Charmed, a local night club, was also a hotbed for the paranormal freaks that inhabited the world and a great place to get all the information one needed about what was what. News always found its way there and traveled fast through the crowd. Jason wanted to see if he could find out anything more about his mother’s disappearance.

  The drive was fairly short. It was too early in the morning for many to be out and about. He enjoyed the fact that the normally packed intersection of Scottsdale Road and Camelback was pretty deserted, and as he turned west toward Phoenix he enjoyed the almost complete solitude of the moment. Jason had plenty of time to think about what had happened with him and Rebecca that night.

  Their kiss had been inevitable. Even before meeting her, the image of her face had called to him. Her full lips, seemingly curved in a perpetual smile, drew him closer. Her mocha-colored eyes danced with the kind of life he could only dream about. A life of light and laughter. A life he had always looked through the window in to but had never been able to partake of.

  He wanted to partake of it now.

  He wanted to partake of her.

  Just the thought of how her sweet lips had moved softly over his made him rock-hard. The feel of her curved waist beneath his fingers had sent shocks of awareness through him. Entwining his fingers in the silky golden-brown curtain of her hair had driven him over the edge. He couldn’t have stopped himself from drawing her closer and kissing her any more than he could stop himself from breathing.

  Dammit!

  He didn’t need this right now. He didn’t need her. He had too many things going on in his life. He needed to find his mother. That should be his main priority. The rest was professional and that was where it should stay.

  But that wasn’t where it was. He knew that. Rebecca knew that. They had something between them. Something strong pulling at both of them. It wouldn’t be denied.

  Jason’s admission calmed him down.

  Fine, they had a connection. They had chemistry. He liked talking to Rebecca and she seemed to like talking to him.

  He could handle it. He was a big boy.

  But he needed to concentrate on his priorities.

  He needed to find his mother and he needed to protect Rebecca. That was his focus. That was where his attention needed to be.

  But what about Rebecca’s focus? It should be on regaining her memory. But when would she gain it completely back? And how would she handle it when she did?

  He could tell from her words and actions that she already seemed to be gaining her memory back in bits and pieces.

  That was good.

  But she was having a hard time handling it.

  That was bad.

  The hysteria she had fallen into tonight was troubling.

  He didn’t believe for a second that it was just because she was remembering things slowly. He wasn’t her doctor. But he had written and e-mailed a short report to Vlad about what happened and in it Jason included what he thought the event may have been about. What he didn’t include was how he calmed Rebecca down. He wasn’t sure how to explain that to his boss, and even if he did know how, Jason didn’t think Vlad would approve of his technique. For now, until he knew more about what was going on not only inside Rebecca’s head but also his own, he would keep that part of the story quiet.

  Jason knew Rebecca was impatient about regaining her memory but he also felt that she was scared of what it would uncover. Subconsciously she was deeply aware that whatever event caused her to lose her memory must have been very traumatic. So while part of her truly did
want to remember, he had a feeling there also was another part of her that didn’t. The hysteria she had experienced was probably a symptom of that.

  Jason wondered what had actually happened to Rebecca. He wished Vlad or Mr. Vanderhoss had more information for him to work with. They all knew she had been viciously attacked. That alone made Jason want to tear someone apart, but it was also frustrating not knowing who or what exact circumstances had been involved.

  After the Vanderhosses had left the office, Jason had spoken more to Vlad. His boss had explained that the police had been initially involved but because magic and paranormal activity were suspected, witchcraft to be exact, Rebecca’s grandfather had used his clout in the community to keep regular law enforcement out of it. But beyond the fact that spells had been cast to disable her while she had been attacked and almost killed, Vlad and Rebecca’s family didn’t know much else.

  Why Rebecca?

  In his line of work there was always that question.

  Why?

  Why would someone want to attack her?

  From what her grandparents had said the attack had been deliberate, not random, possibly due to her or her family’s position in the community. Still, this explanation troubled him. Was that reason enough for someone to stalk and attack Rebecca? Yes, she was a very public person but from all the research he had done on her and her family, all her work revolved around helping the community as well as inspiring the individual.

  It just didn’t connect for him. And he had learned through his many years with Sundown that when things didn’t connect there was more to the picture than met the eye. He would trust his instincts on this, as he had always done in the past, and keep his eyes out for more. He would discover the facts he needed to protect Rebecca from harm.

  His clients deserved no less.

  She deserved no less.

  And Jason wanted to give her his all.

  Despite the early morning hour Twice Charmed was packed. Although the place was in a heavily populated part of Phoenix the poverty and seediness of the area told its own story. With the state mental hospital just down the street and the red light district around the corner, Twice Charmed’s location wasn’t ideal.

  Which suited its patrons just fine.

  But Jason knew it was more than the locale that made humans generally steer clear of the place. There was a certain energy to the club, an energy that turned humans away. Word was that the owners had enlisted the help of a wizard to cast a deterring spell. That spell gave humans a sense of unease when they were in the vicinity of Twice Charmed, and made them hesitant and even frightened to enter the club. But when they did enter, the club’s owners insisted that no humans be harmed in or anywhere near their place. They didn’t want the liability or the trouble and suspicion that would arise because of such an event. This rule was only one of a few rules the owners insisted upon. If a human were killed in or near the place the paranormal responsible would pay dearly, maybe even with his or her life. The least that would happen would be that they would never be allowed back into Twice Charmed again.

  This worked well because, like Jason, most of the customers in the place weren’t human.

  At least not in the true sense of the word.

  Vamps, werewolves and even ghosts were known to frequent the bar. It was the only club of its kind in all of Arizona and as such it drew customers from all over. Walking into the club, the power he felt inside the room was palpable. It was a living pulsating energy that hummed around the room and skittered over his body like fingers lightly caressing him, raising goose bumps on his skin. With so many paranormals in one place, that was no surprise.

  The owners were very aware of this, and so had the need for another rule—no fighting inside the club. If someone started a fight inside they were escorted out and not allowed back in. There were no second chances. Jason knew that to be a fact from witnessing the occasions when someone decided to ignore that rule. However, if patrons were dead set on fighting they were more than welcome to fight outside in the back, behind the club. The owners had set up an arena of sorts, surrounded by extremely high block walls. No one but the club’s customers knew what happened behind those walls. Bets were even allowed, with the owners getting a cut of every deal, of course. Considering how much raw energy culminated as soon as the establishment’s doors opened after sundown, Jason wouldn’t be surprised if the club’s purveyors got wealthy just from their share of the numerous bets placed on the fights that transpired each night.

  Jason walked up to the entrance, bypassed the line waiting to go in and shook hands with the gargoyle doing door duty that night. Tarak was a member of his father’s clan, Jutaka. Being the clan of law enforcement, many held security positions throughout the valley. Known for their stoic attitudes, strength and loyalty, gargoyles were sought after for these types of positions. They didn’t put up with any crap and patrons frequenting the club knew they couldn’t get away with bullying, paying off or sweet-talking a gargoyle. Some thought gargoyles nothing more than big, stupid creatures because they didn’t say much. They only made that assumption once, sometimes at the cost of their life. His people generally didn’t say much but they were far from stupid.

  “How’s it going, man?” Jason asked his clansman.

  “Good, how about you?”

  “I can’t complain. Busy tonight, huh?”

  Tarak grinned. “When isn’t it?”

  “Yeah. Too many of us freaks out there I guess,” Jason said, grinning good-naturedly.

  “Speak for yourself. The ladies aren’t calling me a freak.”

  Jason shook his head and chuckled. “No doubt. I need to find me one of those ladies.”

  Tarak’s smile widened. “Have a good time, man,” he said, motioning him in.

  “Thanks.”

  Jason walked in and scanned the club. He noted the beautiful females packed into the place but didn’t respond to their interested glances until he spotted a familiar face. His lips spread into a wolfish grin. The object of his perusal caught sight of him, smiled and waved.

  Excusing herself from the male crowd that continually surrounded her, Maria sauntered his way.

  He scanned her body slowly, unable to help himself. Jason was aware that when he entered a room, people noticed. He gave it little thought unless it helped him in his job in some way. His muscular build and tall height were part of that factor. But he had also been told by many females that his long black hair, striking face and eyes caught their attention right away. Still, the attention he received was nothing compared to the male glances Maria garnered every time she moved. Although he wasn’t human the male part of him, gargoyle or not, couldn’t help but appreciate this female’s appeal. Some would say it was unconscious, that all males were drawn to Maria.

  Considering the fact that she was a legendary siren of the sea, it was very possible this was true. The legends didn’t lie when they told of females whose voices seduced men to their own deaths. And with a face and body like Maria’s, it was surprising some males weren’t already fighting over her that evening. Males came to blows over her often enough that Maria had been repeatedly warned by the owners of the club to curb her appeal. The irony of it all, of course, was that Maria had no control over her seductiveness. As coworkers at Sundown Security, she and Jason had talked on numerous occasions. She had told him that she didn’t know how to stop her power, complaining with frustration that she never knew if a man liked her for her or just because of her power over him. As she closed the distance between them and gave him a heart-stopping smile, he wondered the same thing.

  Fighting his body’s rock-hard reaction, he cleared his throat.

  “How are you, little one?”

  “So-so,” she said with a slight shrug of her petite shoulders before posing the same question to him. “How about you tall, dark, and stony? What’s up with you?”

  Her words pulled at him even more than the sight of her. The power of the siren’s voice was strong in her. So
strong Jason had to constantly keep himself in check and focus on why he was there talking to Maria. Striving for self-control, he met her stare with his own bland expression.

  “Okay, thanks. I’m looking for information.”

  Maria gave him a resigned smile. “That figures. Why is it that all the good ones aren’t interested in me for anything but work?”

  “You know my policy on females, Maria,” he said with a lopsided smirk. “I only stay long enough with the fairer sex to satisfy them and me then I’m out. And I know you don’t want a piece of that. Besides, I respect you too much to even try.”

  “That’s not what you said at the company holiday party last year,” she pointed out, arching one eyebrow while amusement danced in her eyes.

  Jason grinned and threw up his hands in mock surrender.

  “Have mercy, Maria. You’re a beautiful, intelligent and seductive woman. I couldn’t help myself. You have a lot to offer a man. I’m just glad you turned my proposition down flat.”

  Maria shook her head.

  “You were drunk, Jason. I don’t want to be with a drunk. Though I will admit that the idea of taking you home with me was very appealing,” she said, giving his body a quick once-over that sent his libido through the roof. “But if I did that I’d want you fully coherent because, believe me, you’d want to remember every last detail of what I did to you, and what we did together.”

  Jason chuckled. But not because he didn’t believe her. He knew Maria was right. She was the type of woman males never forgot being with. She was such a passionate person that he was sure she brought that passion to bed. Nope, Maria was a woman that stuck to a man.

  Just like Rebecca.

  He was sure she was also the type who would stick to you if you got involved with her. She’d entangle herself in a guy’s soul and he’d never be able to get himself out. Jason was drawn to that, tempted to lose himself in Rebecca.